Also known as capsicums, bell peppers, sweet peppers or by their colours, for example red and…

Method

Tip the canned tomatoes into a saucepan along with the stock, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and throw in the carrots. Gently simmer the soup until the carrots are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the pulses and spinach and heat until the spinach has wilted. Spoon in the pesto and gently mix into the soup. Serve with some crusty bread.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments (22)

monkeyb0b2nd Feb, 2014

2

Really not a great recipe this. Far too much liquid in the standard recipe and fairly dull flavour wise. As per others I used just under half of the stock but added a small amount of chilli, some moroccan spice and seasoning. Also took a lot longer than 20 mins to get it all cooked properly. I'd personally suggest that this be slow cooked for at least an hour to get the most out of the recipe and any adjustments you have made

Having read some of the other comments on here first, I made a few alterations to the recipe and it was really tasty. It also made enough for 5 lunches which was perfect. As others have suggested, I only used 1 litre of stock- this seemed plenty. I then substituted one of the carrots for a potato cut into tiny chunks and also added finely chopped onion. Will definitely make this again for a warming lunch.

This soup is lovely once you've made a few adjustments therefore I would say that the actual recipe is poor. As others have noted, there is way too much liquid!! I used less than half of that in the recipe. It also needs to be simmered gently for much longer in order to cook the carrots and develop the flavours and the carrots need to be chopped very small. I also added a tsp of sugar, a good pinch of salt, black pepper, 1/2 tsp of dried basil and twice the pesto. Delicious, simple and healthy - in the end!

I'm sure it's not supposed to be 2 litres, it was far too thin. I reduced it for ages before it was a better consistency. I also had to liquidize the whole thing so it was suitable for my toddler and baby, but actually I think this made it taste nicer.

We've just made this recipe from the Good Food cook book we have. The photo and description made it look and sound wonderful. With hindsight I wish I had read the comments on here first. The addition of a sausage or two does sound like it would go really well. And we definitely found it to be too watery. I'd recommend 1 ot 1.5 ltrs of stock. 2 ltrs is definitely way too much. All that aside, it didn't taste bad, it was quite nice actually. I get the feeling with a little tweaking it would be a firm favorite.

Good base recipe but I added cabbage, chili, rice noodles and mushrooms otherwise it would have been bland. Would aslo recommend cooking for over half an hour for a fuller flavour. It made enough for dinner and 3 lunches after!

I love this broth I have made this loads of times. I have read the comments and did a few changes myself I only used 2 pints of stock threw in a handful of red lentils . I put in a few more carrots in and 1 Parsnip, and a good pinch of chilli flakes. it makes loads I'm on a Slimming World Diet if you use sacla roasted Pepper Pesto a Tbsp is only 2 sins for the whole pan so fill your boots Dont eat it with bread tho if your on the diet.

This ended up being really tasty but I had to make quite a few changes. I only used about 2 pints of stock, added a handful of lentils, chilli flakes, a teaspoon of cumin and some sugar to sweeten the tomatoes. It also needed quite a bit longer to cook than 20 minutes because of the carrots.

I agree with the above comments 2litres/3Â½ pints vegetable stock made it far too watery and very bland. It wouldn't reduce down even though I cooked it longer, and it was just like hot water with carrots floating in it. I also didn't add as many stock cubes as required for the stock as I thought it would be far too salty. Its a shame because it looks lovely in the photo, and not watery at all.

Loved this recipe. I added lentils and chopped quorn sausages to thicken it up as before the consistency was too watery and also chilli flakes to give it a bit of a kick. It makes a perfect filling lunch for work and I got 6 good sized tupperware's out of this recipe. Will definitely be making it again once I finally eat it all!

Firstly, I amended the recipe by adding 2 leeks as I had them lying around...Secondly, i used tomato and chilli pesto instead of roasted red pepper, no particular reason, just fancied it!...Thirdly, I used 1 litre of veg stock and found it still has a fairly watery consistency, so I'm REALLY glad I didn't use two litres, that would have been ridiculous!...On the whole, an ok recipe and nice idea to add the pesto for flavour, but certainly not one of the better ones on here.

The limitations of my local shops and cookware meant that I used only 600g of mixed beans and 2 pints of veg stock - I couldn't physically get any more stock in my largest pan, and it's just as well or it would have been quite watery! I also used sundried red tomato pesto (and popped in three teaspoonfuls - I like pesto), and probably had the soup on on the hob a good 10 mins longer than noted. I did enjoy this however, but will definitely try out adding sausages next time!

I thought this needed something extra so I aded some small pasta shells to it which made a big difference and after reading PoshPaws comments I am going to grill some sausages and add them the whats left.

Having had this for dinner tonight, I can understand Mark's comments. However, I did a bit of tweaking and it turned out extremely well. First of all, I assembled the whole thing in the slow cooker and left it for about 5 hours, so there's your first difference. Secondly, I included two large Cumberland sausages that I'd pan-fried to reduce the fat loading and to brown them. The flavours weren't really gelling together, so to encourage them, I added a few shots of Worcester Sauce and some tomato ketchup which did the trick. Oh, and two green chillis - chopped and de-seeded. Definitely a do-again!

The whole family loves this recipe, it's really tasty and healthy too :o) sometimes I add some sausage to make it a meaty dish but the best thing i have found is to get italian mixed beans (do not drain and rinse!!)and chopped tomatoes with herbs both from teco and both add stunning flavour to this dish. Hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family do

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Questions (2)

jb537030th Sep, 2013

Very tasty and filling. Going by previous comments, I only used 1litre of stock and that was plenty. Couldn't really taste the red pepper pesto which I bought specially so would probably stick to red pesto in future which I always have in the fridge! Some Italian herbs would be a good addition too.

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